Thursday, January 2, 2014

Winter on Beaver Creek with Wild Rose

As promised, photo evidence from the Oregon coast on the first day of 2014.

The group of hardy individuals who brave mid-winter weather to drift quietly on local coastal rivers grows weekly. The last time we did this, temperatures were below freezing, but yesterday the most challenging problem was having worn too many layers.

From some of the shots, you can see the brilliant, low-angle winter sun played havoc with picture exposure.

May all lifes difficulties be so taxing.

Beaver Creek empties directly into the Pacific Ocean just south of Seal Rock, Oregon. The estuary is protected by recent acquisition of property by the State of Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department and is quickly becoming a popular kayak destination.

The creek meanders through a marshy estuary and upstream, soon narrows to a trickle. There is a sandbar across the mouth that prohibits salt water intrusion and limits the current flow. You can see the bar in this photo. Yes, those gulls are standing on the sand. To get this picture, I was in a narrow channel in about a foot of water, with a swift current threatening to wash me up on the sand, or out to sea. Just time for a quick shot, then paddle like mad!

Exploring this creek was the initial motivation for building Wild Rose. A row boat just takes too much width to get very far upstream, as can be seen with Lazy Duck. Wild Rose will open a whole new navigational experience for me. I'm looking forward to it!

Why DoryMan?

They have flat Bottoms which enable them to sail in shallow coastal Waters. Their High Bows and Sterns protect them from heavy Seas and violent Storms, as do their strong Hulls made entirely from Oak. The Cross-timbers and Beams are secured with iron Nails as thick as a man's thumb. Their Anchors are secured with Chains and Ropes, while their Sails are made of Rawhide, so as to stand the Violent Winds.